Leosphere has announced that Windcube, its ground-based Lidar, has met the full conditions for the IEC 61400-12-1 ed2 2017 standard. The IEC 61400 12 1, ed. 2 standard sets a scheme to assess the uncertainty of remote sensing devices (RSDs), involving a calibration test for every unit and a classification for every type of instrument.
The calibration gauges the accuracy of measurements in the context of prevailing environmental conditions during the test, and the extent to which this calibration may be affected by other environmental conditions on other occasions. To assess the influence of these changing conditions on the accuracy of the RSD, a sensitivity analysis or classification is needed in which the deviation between the RSD and reference mast measurements is analysed with regard to different environmental variables.
The conditions of the standard require measurements on at least two different units, and one unit at two different sites in order to assess sensitivity to the environmental parameters. In the classification exercise, which was conducted by Deutsche WindGuard Consulting, Windcube achieved all three classifications, meaning it is now fully compliant with the standard. The testing exercise took into account four significant and independent variables: wind shear, turbulence intensity, wind direction and precipitation. Measurements were taken at five-meter intervals at heights ranging from 40 metres to 135 metres.
